Our History

Rutherglen was created a royal burgh by King David I in 1126, one of the oldest in Scotland – and once had one of the mightiest fortresses in the country. According to tradition, Rutherglen was named after King Reuther, reputedly King of the Scots during 213–187BC, who gave his name to ‘a fertile glen for farming’. A less romantic explanation is that ‘Rutherglen’ derives from the Gaelic An Ruadh-Ghleann, meaning red (or reddish) glen.